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July 9th, 2006, 11:14 GMT · By Ioana Butnariu

Ultra Editing Power

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UltraEdit-32 by IDM Computer Solutions Inc See editor's ratings     Request a review
Version reviewed: UltraEdit-32 12.10a

UltraEdit-32 is a text, HTML, and hexadecimal editor. It includes CR fixup, column-mode editing, bookmarks, drag-and-drop support, insert and overstrike modes, font selection for viewing and printing, complete macro support, pop-up menus, numbered lines, tab settings, automatic backup, a spelling checker, and conversion from DOS to Unix file types.


Download UltraEdit-32
Features:

Code Folding
Supports 64-bit file handling (standard) on all 32-bit Windows platforms
UNICODE support
Disk based text editing - supports files in excess of 4GB, minimum RAM used even for multi-megabyte files
100,000 word spell checker, with foreign languages support (American English, British English, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish and Swedish)
Syntax highlighting - configurable, pre-configured for C/C++, VB, HTML, Java, and Perl, with special options for FORTRAN and LaTex. Multiple wordfiles available for download
FTP client built in to give access to FTP servers with multiple account settings and automatic logon and save. (32-Bit Only) Includes support for SFTP (SSH2).
Project/Workspace support
Configurable keyboard mapping (32-Bit only)
Column/block mode editing
Hexadecimal Editor - allows editing of any binary file, shows binary and ASCII view
Named Templates
HTML Toolbar preconfigured for popular functions
Multi-byte Support with Integrated IME Support
Code Folding
Fold any Function or Structure (C/C++)
Collapse All and Expand All
Syntax highlighting (user configurable):
Pre-configured for C/C++, VB, HTML, Java, and Perl
Special options for FORTRAN and LaTex
Support for up to 20 languages
Multiple wordfiles available for download
Support for ASP
Allows different background colors
Support to highlight words beginning with a specified sub-string
Support for syntax highlighting based on file name
Color sections may be named
Font styles available
Ctags support*:
Project specific Ctag file with option to create automatically when opened
Configurable parameters and tag file for use outside of projects
Find Symbol command will locate symbol in ctag file of selected item or item under cursor and position it in appropriate file
*Requires the use of third part CTag EXE for tag file generation (links provided)
Artistic style formatter
Number convertor (selected number to binary, octal, decimal or hexadecimal)
Auto-Correction of Keywords
Character Properties POP-UP Dialog to show:
Value of character in Decimal/HEX and Display
Offset of character from start of file in Decimal/HEX
Duplicate Line
New Line/Insert Line
Auto-Completion:
When invoked all the keywords from the Syntax highlighting will be available in the list (if the file uses Syntax Highlighting)
A user specified file may be used to provide the strings for Auto-Completion
UltraEdit will search back 50K in the file for words that match a partially typed word and show these
FTP client built in to give access to FTP servers with multiple account settings and automatic logon and save. (32-Bit Only) Includes support for SFTP (SSH2).
Regular expression searches
Automatic highlighting of brackets/braces as typing or positioning occurs
Highlight based on Line/Col Background
User configurable match strings
Includes < and > for HTML
Hexadecimal Editor - allows editing of any binary file, shows binary and ASCII view
Project/workspace support - allows user to group files and define multiple workspace configurations
Project can have separate wordfile
ASCII table - allows viewing and insertion of ASCII characters
Add/Remove line comments to selected lines
Support of line comments up to 5 characters
Comprehensive macro support, including saving and loading, multiple macros with hot keys
Configurable tool support (Run compiler, etc.)
Function list shows functions in active file (with 6 function strings per language)
Reformatting of existing code to indent/unindent based on language

As I was having my morning coffee and surfing the web I stumbled across something that made me laugh like I haven't done in a while. There was the picture of a T-shirt and on it was written 'I'm a programar' (the spelling was wrong on purpose) and crossed off, under that: 'I am a programour'; this was crossed off too, and so on. After three tries came the punch-line that was also the submission: 'I write code'.

The reason this was so funny to me is that I know people that fit the description, that are part of another world, where spelling mistakes are called syntax errors.

The demands of developers and programmers in the field of text editing are greater than the average computer user, but IDM Computer found a way to bring the two worlds together by offering a feature-rich HTML/text/hex editor: UltraEdit-32.

When you open the application for the first time in a window, with three categories of file extensions,it appears to allow you to associate different file types with UltraEdit. The categories are: All General (.txt, .ini, .log, .dat, .bin, .hex files), All Programming (.c, .cpp, .h, .hpp, .mak, .prj files), All Web Developer (.html, .htm, .java, .js, .xml, .css files).

From only this first window you can see how versatile UltraEdit is. Now that the 'what' is established, comes the 'how much?'. The answer is quite a lot. Files in excess of 4GB can be handled with minimum RAM used.

UltraEdit has a user-friendly interface. It offers a tree structure on the left, that shows you the files that are open at the moment, and lets you browse your hard disk partitions, CD's or FTP accounts to open a file. On the top there is a menu that gives you access to all important options and actions.

UltraEdit is a plain text editor, a HEX editor, and a programming editor, all rolled into one. It's powerful Find and Replace function allows you to make changes to multiple documents and directories and the Undo function is very powerful, letting you undo things that you've done wrong far back in the document.

You can concentrate on more important things while writing
your code because the application has a spell checking function in nine languages (American English, British English, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish).

Concerning programming, the feature that I find most useful and powerful is the program's capability to color your code. Not only does it recognize what language you are typing in and highlights functions, variables, comments, key-words, expressions and many others, but it also allows you to configure it for any file extension you want. Now, finding errors will be a breeze and editing is done much easier.

You can organize your files by project and easily keep track of various resource files and output files. You also have the option of comparing two files side by side, with differences being highlighted. The program's features also include menu tabs that help with the maintenance of large groups of documents, switching fast between open documents, projects and workspaces.

Besides all the features presented, the list doesn't stop here, Ultra edit is a complex program and in order to find just the right features for your needs you will just have to try it.

The Good

UltraEdit is packed with a lot of useful features for all kinds of users, from the ones that just want a simple text editor to the programmers and developers that need a powerful text editing tool.

The Bad

The only downside I could think of is the price that is kind of high for this sort of application, but, of course, this is a relative matter.

The Truth

There are a lot of text editing programs out there but I like this best because of its simple interface and all the wonderful features and functions it offers.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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EDITOR'S RATINGS:

User Interface: (4/5)
Features: (5/5)
Ease of use: (4/5)
Pricing/Value: (3/5)
Overall: (5/5)
  Final verdict: Excellent   100% Clean Certified


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